UN votes to eliminate Syria weapons

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously last night to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, in a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating conflict.

The vote, after two weeks of intense negotiations, marked a major breakthrough in the paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began. Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring President Bashar Assad’s regime to end the violence.